Belmond Copacabana Palace

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Belmond Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

To preside lavishly over one of the world’s most well known beaches, book a penthouse suite at the five-star Belmond Copacabana Palace. Here you’ll have a bird's eye view over the coast, where two million people flock to watch the fireworks each New Year's Eve. Named a cultural patrimony of Rio, the 90-year-old landmark once hosted Marilyn Monroe, The Rolling Stones and Diana, Princess of Wales. It retains a French-inspired feel after a 2012 restoration, and the social scene at the expansive pool is as hot as the Rio sun.

See and be seen on Copacabana’s wide swatch of sand. Give up your white-umbrella-clad throne and return for lunch, a feijoada stew – Brazil's national dish – at the poolside bar. Indulge in a spa treatment that uses white clay from the Amazon. Snag a sake cocktail at celeb chef Ken Hom’s MEE restaurant. Sway to bossa nova with a hot local at the piano bar.

Reviews for Belmond Copacabana Palace

Anniversary lunch with my wife. Excellent food, excellent service, quality was superb, especially the pastry chef who performed rather well. The start of oysters, camarĂŁo, then scallop cerviche was superb. Excellent salad choice, lobster tails, salmon, king prawns, lamb, beef, great choice of European cheese, choice of 10 beautiful desserts, need I go on?
We will be back, best restaurant I have eaten in Brasil.

We stayed for 5 nights in January, purely for relaxation en-route to Iguassu and Ushuaia (for Antarctica). We have been to Rio several times and done the 'sights' on previous visits. The hotel stands as a beacon of tradition on Copacabana Beach, unfortunately now surrounded by rather tawdry concrete buildings from the 1960s and 70s. We saw photographs of the Hotel taken shortly after it was built in the early 1920s, standing proud and alone on Copacabana Beach (with no roads to be seen!). Time has taken its toll.
We had a one-bedroom suite on the 5th floor of the main building. It was immaculate, with a delightful sitting room and excellent bathroom. Housekeeping and room service were exemplary. The beds were a little firm for my liking, but of course that is purely personal preference. Although we faced the beach which is across a four-lane highway, the soundproofing is perfect.
We spent much time by the pool as the weather was mostly fine and warm. I did spend one afternoon on the hotel's sunloungers on the beach, which were OK, but nothing special. Towels and bottled water are provided. My only wish is that the hotel was located on Ipanema Beach, but I appreciate that this would be difficult to change!
Staff in all departments were courteous and charming. We dined twice in the Italian restaurant Cipriani (named after Belmond's flagship hotel in Venice) and this was excellent. On another two evenings we dined in the poolside restaurant which has an international menu. It is perfectly OK, but nothing special. I just wish that the hotel still had an old fashioned Grand Dining Room, but those days have sadly passed, and we shall not see their like again.
I have no hesitation in strongly recommending this hotel for those who enjoy a taste of the 'Belle Epoque'. Belmond - unlike most other hotel chains - allows its hotels to retain their own character and individuality, and long may that tradition continue. Those looking for flashy modernity would be best to look elsewhere!
We travelled on after 5 days to The Belmond Hotel das Cataratas at Iguassu, and I am posting a review of that excellent hotel also.

We found the room very nice, not huge but very comfortable. Bathroom great. Service great. Pool great. Breakfast great. Location great. We have stayed in many nice hotel throughout Europe and North America and This is a great hotel in a great location. AND you donâ€™t get the â€śnickel and dimeâ€ť feeling that many 5 star hotels give, even free breakfast. My only complaint. To get a bicycle the hotel wanted 50 real per hour per bike That works out to close to 20 bucks an hour, I can rent a car cheaper. Many 5 star hotels I have stayed at provides bikes for a limited time for free. House keeping was the best we every experienced. One of my wifeâ€™s necklaces was tangled from travel, in frustration I laid it down to work on it later, only to find that housekeeping untangled it. Nice touch.

What I can I say about this hotel, the worst since traveling to Rio in a year and a half. have stayed in the following hotel's while either coming for business or vacation, just to name a few. To be honest Belmond Palace was the Worst, very disappointing to say the least. Upon my arrival the system was down for two hours, so I could not check in, in the time waiting the lobby was hot! No AC in the lobby. So, i went to get something to eat, came back and they could not find my reservation. Fifteen minutes later, oh it was found. The room was okay, the pool and food was okay. issues with the security upon coming back into the hotel; I went out for dinner with my colleagues which lasted longer than expected. Upon attempting to enter the hotel I was abruptly stopped by security and he would not let me in. Since I did not speak the language it was an issue! I attempted to show him my room card and he still did not let me in, the woman that was cleaning at that time spoke to him and I can only guess she advised him she saw me at the hotel earlier. I was able to get in and immediately spoke to the manager! That was my last straw! The only reason why I booked that hotel was because my colleague stated he had a good time there. I usually stay at the JW Marriott Hotel, now just called the Belmond to inquiry on a charge. To my surprise their system is down. The staff stated it shall be back in thirty minutes, will not mention his name. This is supposedly the most prestigious hotel in Copacabana, not possible. Stay at the JW Marriott Hotel, food, staff, pool, weight room and room. In my opinion is much better. The best part for me, they remember you. I have a stay coming up, have already booked with them. Belmond Never again.
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The location is of course what you pay for and add the iconic landmark to this and its an expensive stay for the standard of the hotel.
The musky smell in the room and the the overall tiredness of the hotel was the downside. The pool area however had just been refurbished and was a beautiful setting.
The breakfast buffet was well below my expectations. The restaurants Cipriani and Mee however were excellent with great service.
Its a beautiful hotel but not as luxurious as I expected it to be.